TRANSCRIPT:
Hello this is Dr. Tom Mullikin with SCDNR for Into the Wild.
A diamondback terrapin lives where fresh water and salt water meet. It is North America's only turtle found exclusively in estuaries, moving through tidal creeks, marsh edges, and muddy banks.
Terrapins breathe air, but they are curious feeders and may enter blue crab traps. Once inside, they can drown if they cannot reach the surface. Lost traps can continue catching animals long after the person who set them has gone.
Researchers and crabbers have tested small bycatch-reduction devices that limit a terrapin's ability to enter while still allowing crabs through. It is a reminder that conservation is often practical. Sometimes helping a species does not require changing an entire fishery. It begins by changing the shape of one small opening.